Sharon Cozzolino transfers to Coe College this fall after earning League for Innovation honors
Poignant poetry describing a death in the family has earned a national literary honor for a Kirkwood Community College graduate. Sharon Cozzolino won a Second Place award in the 2009-10 National Student Literary Competition of the League for Innovation in the Community College.
Cozzolino’s poem, “Dying Clean” was chosen from a nationwide pool of entries representing top community college student works. Her work was judged to be superior among writing from dozens of top two-year colleges from Seattle and Phoenix to Dallas and Baltimore.
Cozzolino grew up in Chicago and has lived in the Cedar Rapids area for the past decade. During her two years at Kirkwood she distinguished herself as a member of Phi Theta Kappa and earning membership on the Kirkwood Dean’s List. She credited Kirkwood professors and the college’s “supportive atmosphere” in her educational progress.
“I’m very proud to have won this recognition for my poetry. Thanks to wonderful Kirkwood instructors, I am now convinced I can go on from my BA degree to earn an MFA, and eventually a Ph.D., then use what I have learned in turn to help others learn as a college English professor,” Cozzolino said.
Kirkwood Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Bill Lamb praised Cozzolino’s positive contributions to the college and her own academic success.
“We are quite proud of Sharon’s accomplishments at Kirkwood, especially the League for Innovation National Literary Competition. This contest draws the best writers and creative minds from around the nation into one competitive arena. Sharon is duly recognized as one of America’s community college best,” Lamb said.
Cozzolino is ready to continue her academic career this fall at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, where she will focus on three areas of study: English, creative writing and psychology. She will continue her college work with substantial scholarship awards from Coe and Phi Theta Kappa.
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The League for Innovation is an international organization dedicated to catalyzing the community college movement. The organization encourages creative projects and collaboration to improve and expand opportunities at two-year colleges in the U.S. and around the world. Kirkwood is one of 19 League Board Member colleges and the only college in Iowa to hold that distinction.